


i want a lifetime of moments of beauty

by annmeredithperkins



Category: Superstore (TV)
Genre: ...and even she knows that, F/M, a tiny reference to not heterosexual jonah, angsty simmosa, i don’t know anything about working in an american superstore by the way, manager!glenn, post season 5 finale, sad but still an activist!jonah, set in my idea of the season 6 finale, simmosal fix it, superstore won’t be the same without amelia sosa.., the endgame that superstore nation deserves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-29
Updated: 2020-02-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:53:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22943614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/annmeredithperkins/pseuds/annmeredithperkins
Summary: Nobody in the St. Louis division of the Cloud 9/Zephra store expected Amy to actually take the job at corporate, least of all Jonah Simms. After an utter mess of a year in which he tried to place all his emotion into activism and the aftermath Amy left with the rest of his coworkers, Jonah is starting to wonder why he’s still in his job if everyday is the same.
Relationships: Amy Dubanowski/Jonah Simms, Amy Sosa/Jonah Simms, Dina Fox/Garrett McNeill
Comments: 8
Kudos: 58





	i want a lifetime of moments of beauty

Jonah’s anger had been slowly building since she left.

Not at her. Never at her. 

Despite all their playful disputes and meaningful arguments, he could never bring himself to blame her for anything. Even if she stole his last granola bar in the morning before work, or forgot to tell him he’d be in charge of Parker for a few hours whilst she helped out Dina, or took a job at corporate..

It was the things that made him love her. That she loved to tease him, that she’d drop everything for her friends, that she was so ambitious. 

He wondered if he’d been too blind in his love to notice signs. That he’d spent so much time dropping hints about their future he’d missed her slipping away. He’d lamented this to Garrett one night, soon after they became roommates again, and was quickly reassured that no one had expected her to up and leave like she did. 

***

Glenn reprised his management role, more reluctant than Jonah had ever seen him. Although he’d jumped at the chance the last time Amy was out of the store, the situation had changed so drastically he promised his co-workers he refused to sign anything more than a temporary contract, admitting Amy’s exit had left shoes too big for any of them to fill. 

Jonah himself considered it briefly. Perhaps he thought that his anger for the situation could be resolved with some authority but he realised as soon as he sat on the other side of that desk how wrong everything felt. That was the first time it crossed his mind why he was still sticking around if his one good reason for staying had left herself.

***

They had stayed in touch to some extent at first. After the fateful day Jonah had found himself itching to get down on one knee before she’d told him she’d accepted Maya’s offer, he’d gone only a few days before the urge to talk to her had overwhelmed him.

“I figured you’d want answers at some point.” She already sounded different, more reserved. Maybe it was just paranoia; phone calls did that to people. 

“Yeah, I was hoping.. I mean you kinda shocked me I was all ready... and then you sorta pulled one of those Uno reverse cards with me...” He heard the beginning of her laugh before her restraint kicked in, nearly enough to break him there and then. 

“Listen Jonah, I don’t want to sound like one of those people but I when I say it wasn’t you, it was me, I truly mean it. I’ve had this job for years now and I want to go somewhere, do something, and with Zephra taking over and seeming slightly less horrible than other corporations I knew this was my chance.The last time I had an opportunity like this the thing that held me back was Adam. I know, I know you’re not like him but I can’t let something like this slip away from me again whilst I continue wasting away at 1217..” 

“Wasting away..” Jonah’s voice cracked as he spoke, holding himself together with the thinnest of strings. 

“I have to go Jonah, I’m sorry. For everything.” 

***

Dina had taken it just as hard. She’d refused any form of contact with Amy, feeling nothing short of betrayed. Although her and Jonah had always had a strange relationship, their freshly severed bond with Amy had been the catalyst to push them into a real friendship. They had found themselves both retreating to the store’s nearest bar after particularly tough shifts, sharing moments of brief but meaningful conversation as they drank. 

It was during one of these that Dina told him she had started sleeping with Garrett again. Upon seeing Jonah’s shocked expression, she had responded that when you were never sure what was going to happen to the people in your life, holding grudges seemed less important. She had loved Garrett and he had loved her, evident from when Jonah caught glimpses of their rekindled relationship. 

Both of them told him that maybe he should try seeing other people. He hadn’t felt prepared for that for a couple of years. Before Amy there was Kelly, and when they finally split it wasn’t sadness that filled his body like an alternative to oxygen, it was instead a nagging guilt about the fact the first thing he wanted to do was see how a certain coworker of his would react to the news. So it had been too long since Jonah had felt ready to put himself on the market and he knew full well it was not the time right now. 

***

When Halloween arrived, he took the day off. 

He had made sure to book it a few weeks in advance, not missing the concerned eyebrow raise he received from Glenn in reaction.

Jonah hadn’t felt this depressed in a long time. He’d struggled before in high school, when he felt like he had no friends and college, when he’d just come out as bi to his parents to limited response and especially business school, when his existential crises had pushed him so far away he ended up in St Louis, Missouri. But since then he’d had a distraction on his tough days to challenge him and make fun of and with him and later, kiss him hard enough he forgot about his worries for a second.

It was when he found himself sat home alone on October 31st that it truly crossed his mind for the second time why he was still a Cloud 9 employee.

*** 

The others in the store did what they could, even feigning interest in causes that could hopefully inspire Jonah to return to his normal self. Dina and Cheyenne spoke unusually loudly in the break room about a Feminist March they were planning on attending, protesting violence and exploitation of women that they actually really needed a ride for since Dina’s car was in the garage that day. 

Sandra and Garrett reminded him just how awful they felt that Mateo hadn’t fully received his American citizenship and the four of them pestered and applied and studied until Mateo was officially qualified enough to return as floor manager.

As the year slid on, Jonah once again began to raise the idea unionising to Glenn who had severely less qualms than previously. However the occasional time their district manager Maya had visited, often giving Jonah sympathetic glances, she had specifically asked Glenn if any activity was recurring. 

So the team continued to work in the shadows as much as they could until they were forced to confront Zephra themselves. Finding it harder than expected to get any form of council with corporate, Jonah felt his confidence slipping more and more. Nothing was going to change. That’s when the weird things started to happen. 

*** 

First Jonah, who had worked in the blue vest for coming up six years now, found himself scanner in hand (the POS system was down, again) in such a state of dissociation he had selected reprice instead of reduce on around five items already. Luckily, he snapped quick enough to be able to fix his mistake before any lockdown situations needed to occur. 

Pissed at himself, he called to Mateo that he was taking a break and trusted Sandra with his scanner before he relived any other incidents. 

It was when, in a slightly calmer state, he returned from the break room that out of the corner of his eye he spotted an unusual display. 

Detouring towards it, Jonah noticed about six feet’s worth of chopped tomato cans with a selection of baked beans interwoven to form a smiley face. Before his thoughts even had time to form, Dina appeared to his right, screaming about the inappropriate and dangerous nature of the display.

Now, Jonah was not in any particular way superstitious. He knew people who were; a certain woman in particular who believed in that kind of thing, reading her horoscope to him every morning when they were in bed. But Jonah himself was happy to peg today’s events down to coincidence if he hadn’t gone outside to collect abandoned carts and found Garrett, Glenn and Mateo competing in an obstacle course using the very things Jonah had been sent to organise. 

But now, he was angry. He wasn’t sure if someone was playing some sick kind of joke as he abandoned the men to their game and returned inside but he felt a aggravation building just before.. 

***

As he stomped through the doors, the store’s lights played along and darkened, revealing a ceiling covered with plastic glow stars. 

Eyes flickering they naturally landed on her. He could never be angry at her. She wore a bright grin he hadn’t seen in too many months and only apprehension prevented him from running over to her and kissing her until neither of them could breath. 

“Heard you might be in need of a moment of beauty..”

“Amy.. I.” She waved her hands, suppressing his words. 

“Please, Jonah. Let me. I made such a fucking mistake taking that job. I thought, you know, maybe I could make some real change, from higher up the food chain. But everything is so rigid and Chicago is so lonely and god, Jonah Simms I missed you like crazy.” He laughed, a tinge of bitterness remaining.

“It’s been almost a YEAR. You left! I haven’t heard from you in months, Amy.. Dina, did you even think about how your best friend was going to...” 

“Marry me?” Amy interrupted, finding herself bending into the position Jonah had pictured himself in a year ago.

“What?” 

“Marry me, Jonah. I quit the job. I’m moving back here or.. or anywhere. I do want to do something worthwhile and explore places but I’ve figured maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if we did that together. Hell, I don’t want to settle for one moment of beauty. I want a lifetime of them.” 

He kneeled in front of her, grabbing her free hand and closing the distance between them, saying everything he’d wanted to tell her in the time they spent apart in one kiss. 

“Okay... Amelia Sosa. I’ll marry you.” 


End file.
